This document discusses concepts and strategies for economic recovery following a disaster. It outlines key fundamentals like investing pre-disaster, integrating resiliency planning, and involving the private sector and local governments in recovery efforts. It also describes the National Disaster Recovery Framework and the role of the Economic Recovery Support Function led by the Department of Commerce to coordinate federal support for economic recovery initiatives. Regional collaboration and the role of economic development professionals in recovery are also discussed.

1. Economic Recovery and Resilience
NADO Annual Training Conference
August 26, 2013

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ECONOMIC RECOVERY FUNDAMENTALS
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 Fundamental economic recovery concepts:
 Investment of time, energy, and resources pre-disaster is key.
 Integrating resiliency planning into economic, workforce, and
community development could yield benefits pre- and post-disaster.
 Primacy of private sector, as well as state/local government, in
defining and implementing economic recovery.
 Post-disaster economic recovery initiatives should consider and
address the unique needs of the community. Some could include,
but are not limited to:
 Community Planning
 Cash Flow
 Business Resumption
 Finance and Insurance
 Workforce Development
ECONOMIC RECOVERY CONCEPTS
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 Economic Development
 Small Business
 Marketing and Communications
 Assessment and Evaluation

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• Economic Resiliency Seeks to:
– Mitigate the potential for future economic injury;
– Promote a faster “up-time” for economic anchors (e.g. key businesses and/or
industries); and,
– Enable a stronger capacity to troubleshoot vulnerabilities within the regional
economy
• Post-Disaster Resilience Opportunities
– Integration of community planning, hazard mitigation planning, and economic
development.
– Regionalism – leveraging regional assets and mitigating systemic risk
– Sector-based workforce development
– Promoting local hiring
– Targeted assistance for small and disadvantaged businesses
– Promoting diversification and innovation
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ECONOMIC RESILIENCY OPPORTUNITIES

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• Examples of post- disaster economic resiliency, in practice:
– Diversify the industrial base (both geographically and across industries)
– Enhance business retention and expansion programs
– Focus efforts on strengthening existing high-growth businesses
– Increasing the availability of “baseline” business information
– Increasing the communications connections between local
government, emergency management, utilities, and the business community
– Engaging the business community to participate in, and support, resilience
efforts
– Working with the business community to link community resilience and
business continuity
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ECONOMIC RESILIENCY OPPORTUNITIES

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NATIONAL DISASTER RECOVERY
FRAMEWORK BASICS
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• NDRF Background:
• Base document finalized in September 2011
• Describes and institutionalizes agency-wide approaches to prepare for, plan
for, and manage disaster recoveries.
• Seeks to provide a structure for all Federal agencies to participate in on-going
disaster planning and recovery that would facilitate problem
solving, improved access to resources, and foster coordination among state
and Federal agencies and nongovernmental partners and stakeholders.
• Commerce/EDA Role:
• The Department of Commerce (DOC), through the Economic Development
Administration (EDA), leads the Economic Recovery Support Function (RSF) of
the NDRF.
NDRF BACKGROUND

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• Sustainability and Resiliency in Recovery
– NDRF seeks to create a higher order of interagency/intergovernmental
coordination over a longer span of the recovery continuum
– Pre-disaster activities focus on integrating resiliency practices into day-
to-day operations
– Recovery continuum starts at the moment of the disaster and scales
up as the response roles diminish
Recovery Continuum
NDRF BACKGROUND

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 The mission of the Economic RSF is to integrate the expertise of the
Federal government to help local, state, and tribal governments and the
private sector sustain and/or rebuild businesses and employment, and
develop economic opportunities that result in sustainable and
economically resilient communities, after significant natural and man-
made disasters.
 Key role for Economic RSF is to facilitate economic recovery, not drive it.
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WHAT IS THE ECONOMIC RSF?

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• Federal Partners:
– Coordinating Agency
• Department of Commerce/Economic Development Administration
(DOC/EDA)
– Primary Agencies:
• Department of Homeland Security/Federal Emergency Management
Agency (DHS/FEMA)
• Department of Labor (DOL)
• Small Business Administration (SBA)
• Department of the Treasury (TREAS)
• U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
– Supporting Organizations:
• Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS)
• Department of Interior (DOI)
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
• Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) 10
ECONOMIC RSF PARTNERS

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• Federal Partners:
– Additional Agencies with ad hoc engagement:
• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
• Appalachian Regional Commission
• Delta Regional Authority
• Common State/Regional/Private Sector Partners:
– Economic development organizations
– Workforce development organizations
– Chambers of commerce
– Development authorities
– Utilities
– Institutions of higher education
– Regional planning commissions
– Councils of government
– Economic Development Districts
– Financial institutions
– State insurance agencies 11
- State taxation and revenue
agencies
- Elected officials
- Planning organizations
- Community development
organizations
- Critical infrastructure
owners/operators
- Other?
ECONOMIC RSF PARTNERS (CONT.)

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DEPLOYMENT OF THE RSF
 Tennessee – 2010 - Flooding
 Gulf Coast– 2010 – BP Oil Spill
 Alabama -2011 – Tornadoes
 New York – 2011 – Hurricane/TS
 Vermont – 2011 – Hurricane/TS
 Joplin, MO – 2011 – EF5 Tornado
 Louisiana – 2012 – Hurricane Isaac
 Nationwide- 2012 – Drought
 NY/NJ – 2012 – Hurricane/TS
 Oklahoma – 2013 - EF5 Tornadoes
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Ocean City, NJ Vermont

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• What happened?
– Economic RSF was mission assigned and engaged on-site in NJ/NY since early
November 2012
– RSF convened regularly to focus on three basic steps:
• Conduct a Mission Scoping Assessment – In partnership with the
state, capture the overarching issues as it relates to economic recovery
• Develop a Recovery Support Strategy – In partnership with the
state, document the federal capabilities available to be leveraged to
support economic recovery.
• Implement the Recovery Support Strategy – Undertake those initiatives
identified in the Recovery Support Strategy and work with the state to
facilitate the transition to steady-state operations.
– RSF activities fall into three major categories:
• Technical assistance – (e.g. Peer-to-Peer Tourism Workshop)
• Information sharing – (e.g. connecting the dots between disparate data
sources)
• Leveraging existing resources – (e.g. working with federal program staff to
retool planned initiatives to also support immediate recovery needs) 13
HURRICANE SANDY RECOVERY EFFORTS

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• Information Sharing:
– The ability to coordinate planning efforts could produce additional
opportunities in furthering the overall recovery effort
– Knowledge of private sector needs could influence planning process, in favor
of a more expedited recovery
– Trend analysis could demonstrate need for new or creative capabilities to
address recovery challenges
• Resource Leveraging:
– Local governments often struggle with match requirements – private sector
resources could be mutually beneficial
– Faster “response” potential
– Broader, more diverse, and more resilient recovery effort – through financial
and non-financial resources
ROLE FOR THE PRIVATE SECTOR –
OPPORTUNITIES FOR PARTNERSHIP

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• Disasters don’t recognize political boundaries.
• Regionalized approaches to pre‐ and post‐disaster economic recovery
issues are key.
• Regional approaches can look at the region as a whole and not a series of
interlocking , yet distinct, parts.
• Regional approaches can also include the resiliency considerations of the
broader supply chain (workforce and production).
• Economic development professionals can serve as well‐positioned
post‐disaster economic recovery “first responders.”
ROLE FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
PROFESSIONALS/PLANNERS

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• If the NDRF (from a Federal perspective) is focused on supporting
state/community driven recovery, how can the State/community integrate
with that effort?
• Possible Actions:
– Align a similar structure for post-disaster recovery
• Establish state-level NDRF plans with RSF annexes
• Build new public/private partnerships
– Adapt existing structures to interface with the Federal structure
• Map existing planning and coordination efforts with the “best fit” in the NDRF
• Build on existing public/private partnerships
• Design Factors:
– Establish a process and designate authorities to collect, aggregate, and
communicate impact information
– Anticipate timing challenges
– Exercise leadership pre-disaster
– Establish clear expectations
– Expect resource limitations
EXTENDING THE NDRF/RSF MODEL – LESSONS OBSERVED

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• Establishing an RSF-type structure for recovery has strengths
– Recognizes that implementing recovery is not a command and control
operation – it’s a matrix leadership model
– Capitalizes on the assets, knowledge, and resources of a far broader set of
organizations (not typically engaged in recovery)
– Establishes efficiencies of scale that might be lost if multiple organizations
pursued their own recovery strategies
• Establishing an RSF-type structure for recovery has vulnerabilities
– With so many partners, maintaining a cohesive leadership core can be a
challenge (and political)
– Partners with relatively small roles may have difficulty seeing the return on
their involvement
– Recovery is long term (really long term), maintaining energy and focus for the
long haul can be daunting for many
SUSTAINABILITY AND INTEGRATION

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EDA FUNDED DISASTER RECOVERY
PROJECTS
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• Economic Development Administration (EDA) can assist communities in
addressing long-term disaster relief and recovery needs. Through competitive
grants to eligible applicants, EDA’s disaster recovery generally falls within three
categories:
• Strategic Planning
• EDA offers financial resources and technical assistance to help develop and
enhance economic development plans following a disaster. This is
achieved through the funding of disaster recovery plans, strategies, and
funding for disaster recovery coordinators.
• Infrastructure Development
• EDA offers grant funds to build new infrastructure (e.g., business
incubators, technology parks, research facilities, basic utilities) that foster
economic development to retain or attract jobs to the region.
• Capital for Alternative Financing
• Through EDA’s Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) program, nonprofit and
governmental entities can apply to establish an RLF which, in turn,
makes below market rate loans to businesses to help recovery.
TYPES OF EDA DISASTER PROJECTS

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• Funds are awarded on a competitive basis. Successful projects will:
• Support long-term economic recovery (not initial clean-up or
rebuilding efforts)
• Demonstrate a nexus between the project scope of work and
applicable disaster
• Show that the project will foster job creation and promote private
investment
• Align with a relevant strategic, economic development, or disaster
recovery plan
• Demonstrate the incorporation of disaster resiliency
EDA DISASTER FUNDING FACTORS

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Port Expansion
In spring 2010, Rhode Island experienced one of the worst disasters in its history when
flooding in the Pawtuxet and Pawcatuck Rivers reached record levels, leading to over $200
million in damage.
• Location – Providence, RI
• Applicant – City of Providence
• EDA Investment - $1,500,000
• Total Project Cost - $3,260,000
• Outcome – 160 jobs created, 179 jobs retained, $1.5 million in private investment
leveraged
– EDA investment funded infrastructure improvements to facilitate the expansion of
the Port of Providence. The new/expanded facilities will increase the port’s capacity
to handle bulk materials for export and create opportunities for business expansion
in the energy, transportation, security, and logistics sectors.
– After the 2010 floods, EDA also established the Rhode Island Business Emergency
Operations Center (RIBEOC), a state-wide program aimed at promoting private
sector disaster resiliency. The program includes the development and
implementation of services that will help businesses prevent, mitigate, prepare
for, and recovery from future disasters.

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Construction of Infrastructure for Industrial Park and
Green Business Accelerator Facility
• Location – Wauwatosa/Milwaukee, WI
• Applicant – City of Wauwatosa/University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Real Estate
Foundation
• EDA Investment - $5,408,646
• Total Project Cost - $12,289,655
• Outcome – 325 jobs created and $15 million in private investment leveraged
– EDA investment constructs a LEED silver certified industry accelerator facility
with world class laboratories and other infrastructure for the innovation park
that the city of Wauwatosa and the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee are
creating to nurture advanced manufacturing businesses.
– This blend of higher education with business initiatives will minimize
technology transfer difficulties and help the region’s pillar sector of
manufacturing recover from the floods of 2008 and the rise in unemployment.

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Street Reconstruction and Storm Drainage
Improvements
• Location – De Witt/Saline, NE
• Applicant – Village of DeWitt
• EDA Investment - $1,000,000
• Total Project Cost - $1,000,000
• Outcome – EDA investment funded storm drainage improvements and the
reconstruction of streets that were damaged by flooding during the Midwest
floods of 2008. The new construction enhanced the village of DeWitt’s business
recruitment efforts by improving accessibility of the village’s main industrial area
and ensuring that the area is safe from future funding.

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Gulf Coast Oil Disaster 2010 – Seafood Rebranding
• Location – New Orleans
• Applicant – Louisiana Seafood Promo Market Board/Louisiana Wildlife and
Fisheries Foundation
• EDA Investment - $315,000
• Total Project Cost - $393,750
• Outcome – Assistance to businesses affected by the BP oil spill
– EDA investment supported the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing
Board, and the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Foundation’s efforts to expand
their commercialization (re-branding) programs, create and retain jobs, and
implement an educational marketing campaign to help mitigate the damage
to costal communities impacted by the 2010 BP oil spill.
– EDA also helped fund a $270,000 project that establishes a pre-oil spill
baseline, based on existing data, for the region surrounding St. Mary and
Vermillion parishes. Through surveys and stakeholder meetings, a post-oil spill
economic and business needs assessment will be generated. This assessment
will be used to create a plan to assist affected businesses and the region in
recovering from the BP spill.

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Disaster Recovery Plan – 2011 Alabama Tornadoes
• Location – Muscle Shoals/Colbert, AL
• Applicant – Northwest Alabama Regional Planning and Development Council
• EDA Investment - $100,000
• Total Project Cost - $125,000
• Outcome – Minimize economic dislocations resulting from natural and other
disasters, improving responsiveness and effectiveness in the recovery process.
– EDA investment supported both immediate and long-term recovery following
the April 2011 tornadoes that severely damaged several northwest Alabama
counties.
– The planning and technical assistance provided to impacted communities
promotes economic recovery through coordination of resources, prioritization
of rebuilding efforts, and regional collaboration.
– Analysis of the storm events will also help local governments develop a
disaster response and preparedness plan to protect
citizens, infrastructure, and businesses from future events.

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Economic RSF National Coordinator
Joshua Barnes
EDA Disaster Recovery Coordinator
jbarnes@eda.gov
202-482-2453
ECONOMIC RSF CONTACT INFORMATION